ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd Decreases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,385 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,849 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.3% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 11.2%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $552.64 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $557.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $422.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $351.11. The firm has a market cap of $438.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop and helping reinforce the stock’s upside momentum. Top 5 Strong Buy Stocks to Invest In
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, citing continued investment in new chip supply and AI infrastructure demand. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of high-bandwidth memory and broader AI hardware spending, which supports long-term semiconductor equipment demand. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is One Of the Best High-Bandwidth Memory Stocks To Buy
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new $500 million Singapore manufacturing expansion is being viewed as a strategic move to support AI chip demand and expand capacity for future growth. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $483.03.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.